


24 Hours

by combefemme



Category: Young Avengers
Genre: F/M, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-15
Updated: 2014-04-15
Packaged: 2018-01-19 11:11:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1467337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/combefemme/pseuds/combefemme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which brothers fight and Tommy loses. Mostly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	24 Hours

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt "tommykate au where they lose their powers for a day and tommy gets caught stealing because he's not used to being without his superspeed." from tumblr user officialscottmccall

It’s almost funny at first. Everyone thinks so.

Everyone except Tommy, that is.

It’s been a pretty boring day. No alien invasions or super-villains to deal with and they’re all sitting around headquarters just hanging out. Kate, Teddy, David, and Noh-Varr are having a Mario Kart tournament. America’s watching, pretending she’s too cool to play. Billy is using the downtime to actually get some homework done for once. Tommy, being Tommy, has no patience for any of it and is zipping around the room and complaining loudly about how bored he is.

"Tommy, would you knock it off," Billy says for what must be the hundredth time that afternoon. "I can’t focus with you doing that."

"Sorry, little brother, no can do," Tommy replies, nothing but a flash of jumbled colours as he speeds by his twin. "If I don’t find something to do soon I’m gonna go insane."

"Okay, but if I don’t get at least a B on this paper I’m going to fai—" Billy’s cut off by a loud crash and they all turn to see Tommy standing over the shattered remnants of what used to be a potted jade plant.

Tommy at least has the decency to look guilty before trying to shrug it off and saying, “Why do we even have plants here?”

"Makes it more homey," Kate answers. 

Billy groans in annoyance and says, “That’s it. I want Tommy to lose his powers for 24 hours.”

"Wait, what?!" Tommy calls, eyes going wide as the air around him flashes blue.

"That’s what you get for being annoying," Billy replies, turning back to his laptop.

Tommy spends the next hour alternating between begging Billy to give him his powers back, pulling at his own hair in frustration, and wondering very loudly how they all live their lives this way everyday until finally Billy’s had enough.

"I swear to god, Tommy, if you don’t shut the hell up I’m taking your voice away next!" he snaps.

Tommy curses at his brother and storms out at a very human pace. Kate’s the only one to watch him go.

"That was kinda harsh," she says after a few moments of awkward silence in which the rest of the team just shoot each other looks, asking without words who would break the tension.

"He’ll get over it," Billy grumbles, not looking up from his laptop.

Kate shrugs. “Maybe. I mean, I know I don’t have powers, but that’s gotta be like losing a limb.”

When Billy just rolls his eyes Kate pushes herself to her feet. “I’m going to make sure he’s okay.”

It’s barely been ten minutes since Tommy left and, stripped of his powers, he can’t have gotten far. She takes a left figuring she might as well start her search at the dank little apartment he keeps a few blocks away. She doesn’t make it that far, though, because there’s a commotion just two streets over that makes her stop.

"Think you can steal from me, huh?" a shopkeeper is yelling. He’s gripping a boy by the wrist. A boy with white hair.

"Let go of me," Tommy gripes, trying to wrench his wrist from the man’s hand. "It was just a pack of gum. Jeez, calm down."

"What’s going on?" Kate asks, jogging over to them.

"Kate," Tommy says.

"You know this little thief?" the shopkeeper demands.

"Uh, yeah," Kate replies, thinking on her feet. "I’m so sorry. He’s my brother. And he, well —" she lowers her voice and looks away, tucking her hair behind her ear. She’s going for uncomfortable which isn’t hard with Tommy looking at her like she’s insane. "— he was in an accident when we were kids and he hasn’t really been the same since, if you know what I mean. Sometimes he has behavioural issues."

"Oh," the shopkeeper replies awkwardly. He drops Tommy’s wrist but doesn’t stop eyeing him suspiciously.

"What does he owe you?" Kate asks, digging into her purse.

"It was just a buck fifty," the shopkeeper replies.

"Here," Kate says, pressing a five into his hand. "Again, I’m so sorry."

Before he can reply, Kate grabs Tommy’s hand and leads him away. They duck into the first alley they go past and Kate gives him a shove.

"Did you just tell that guy I was brain damaged?" Tommy asks.

"At this point, I’m not entirely sure that you aren’t," Kate replies, angry. "Shoplifting, Tommy? You’re supposed to be a superhero!"

"I am!" he shoots back defensively.

"Then what the hell?"

The fight seems to go out of him and he leans against the brick wall behind him. At least he has the decency to look guilty, Kate thinks.

"I don’t know," he shrugs and then looks up at her with a little smirk, just a shadow of his usual self. "Old habits just die hard, I guess. You did break me out of jail, after all."

Kate rolls her eyes, but she can feel her anger subsiding. Tommy’s always had that effect on her and she’s never been sure of why.

"You don’t do it often, do you?"

"Nah," Tommy shakes his head. "And never anything big either. That’s the first time I’ve ever been caught, too —" his voice takes on a bitter tone here "— I’m usually too fast for that."

"Yeah," Kate sighs. "I thought that was out of line, too."

"Some brother I turned out to have, huh?" Tommy says, but Kate knows he doesn’t mean it. This afternoon notwithstanding, he and Billy get along really well.

"So, what’s it like?" Kate asks. "Losing your powers."

Tommy closes his eyes and drops his head back against the wall. “This is gonna sound really weird,” he replies. “But everything’s moving too fast.”

Kate actually laughs at that. “You’re not serious.”

"I mean it," Tommy insists, smiling. "I guess I just feel time differently, or something. It seems slower and that’s why I can go so fast."

"I guess that makes sense," Kate replies, though she’s not entirely sure that it does.

Tommy smiles, like he knows she doesn’t really get it. “So, what should I do for the next 22 hours?”

Kate reaches out and takes his hand again. “C’mon. I’ll show you how to be an average human.”

"Oh, Katie," Tommy laughs. "You’ve never been average."


End file.
